Will Tennessee ever return to national contender status?

[Volfan2012]

Tennessee women's basketball has won more championships and was more revelant than the men's program. I wonder why the administration didn't invest in the women's basketball program after the Pat Summit Era?

Probably a money situation. Men's basketball does make some money and the women seldom did even when Pat Summitt was coach. It was either just a slight profit or break even. Since Pat Summitt a big loser.

 

[volman128]

Tennessee women's basketball has won more championships and was more revelant than the men's program. I wonder why the administration didn't invest in the women's basketball program after the Pat Summit Era?

Well Fulmer, the same guy that hired Cornbread Pruitt, hired Kellie, so I guess that says a lot.

Pat wanted Holly to come after her, which I guess made sense but turned out to be a grave decision on her part. I understand the administration granting that wish, but Holly was given way too much time here.

 

[Volfan2012]

I think Danny White wants to make Tennessee women's basketball elite again. Like any AD you have to give an incoming coach that has been moderately successful a chance to get it done with their own players. Well that year is now and I can see him making a move if the program goes to much downhill this season and certainly if we can't get it done in season six. I don't see her lasting past season six without a big tourney run. I could see him making a change this season if she continues to lose to all the ranked teams. Comes a time when you either accept the status quo or you change the direction completely. I am hoping if she can't make it happen this season he changes direction. I think five seasons is enough to get back to the top and were no where near there.

 

[Spook1]

I just want to say there is no hate and please forgive me if there has been a similar thread posted. This is just a conversation, but I am concerned that Tennessee will never be amongst the elites again. I remember there were times I couldn't wait to get in front of the big screen in my house to watch the Lady Vols play, to see the new recruits and what they will bring to the team or will the team make a deep post season run possibly finally getting to the Final Four. These last five or more years have been hard to watch. It's like Tennessee never shows up in the big games or rarely win games that they aren't the favorites. The Sweet 16 has become the new norm. Third place in the conference has been accepted as good. There has been loaded rosters during these times but the play on the court has been just good and not great. My expectations have dropped significantly. I don't watch their games anymore. I only check score tracker when I know they are playing because it has become hard to watch a team play with little passion and sloppy basketball. I understand NIL, but Tennessee's recruiting wasn't great prior to NIL. The coaching, the offensive and defensive schemes makes you just shake your head. As a fan base, do you all think Tennessee will ever be amongst the elites again and considered a national contender?

The Lady Vols under Coach Harper will not reach the status from the Summit days. She has not been successful in recruiting top players out of the HoopsGurlz top 100. The last and only one out of the last couple of years stayed about two years and was never played more than two or three minutes per game and finally left the team to go elsewhere. Harper needs to put her husband in an administrative position and hire a top notch assistant coach such as Catchings that can recruit and contribute. Harper had done nothing to correct the high rate of turnovers as remember a season where there were 3 games of over 25 turnovers per game....want to correct turnovers simply apply the Coach Barnes method...in practice if a turnover is made the player must run from the floor all the way to the top of the arena and back....that stops turnovers. I Harper is permitted to remain, we are in for a run of seasons as a middle of the pack team in the conference. Either hire Parker or the current coach at Duke as her replacement.

 

[VolsCigarMan]

We need Wes Moore!!!!

 

[xtpsrh08123]

Once the big wigs invest and start caring about WBB again i think so , as of now we are settling and giving pennies with hopes for big outcomes and its not working. Im sure we will be out of the top 25 again by next monday . How long did holly get til she was canned ? I say Kellie gets the rest of this season , what sucks is i think id like her more without her husband on the sidelines jumping and shuffling up and down every 5 seconds .

 

[SGMVols]

Honestly I don’t think we will win another national title in my lifetime. The UT administration stopped caring about women’s basketball after Pat left. The commitment to the sport isn’t there anymore. We won’t even pay $1 million a year to try to get a good coach while LSU spent 4 times that to poach Mulkey.

 

[SGMVols]

We need Wes Moore!!!!

While he is a Knoxville guy (bachelor’s from Johnson U and then master’s at UT), I don’t think he would take the job at this point. NC State is almost certainly his last job.

Our chance to get him was after Pat retired when he was at UTC.

 

[1reVOLver]

When I watch or think of Muffet, Tara, Geno, and Kim, two things come to mind:
1. Intensity - They demand a lot of themselves, their staff, and their players.
2. Multiple NCs

Kellie seems to lack #1, and certainly hasn't come close to #2.

 

[madtownvol]

The Lady Volvs have always had a women coach, and I acknowledge that there are superior womens coaches out there, but maybe a change is in order. If not a man, then at least someone with fire in their belly who be not afraid of offending the players. Coach Jumper mentioned that he is an Alpha, and that is exactly what this program needs.

Uh, Kellie benched her star player last season and then had her coming off the bench for several games. Is that alpha enough for you?

Whenever the LVs lose a game, there are always posters who come with these BS psychological explanations. If only kellie would throw a chair at the players or choke them after a bad play, then they would LEARN!!!

That is fan frustration talking--If I were coach, I would slap some sense into those players!!!

Kellie clearly does need to mix somethings up. Against teams with good perimeter shooting, she needs quicker players on the court who can cover the perimeter more effectively.

Without Rickea, I would have a starting line-up of Powell, Spear, Wynn, Hollingshead, and Puckett. (In this line-up Spear and Puckett have to shoulder a lot of the scoring load). (Wells and Strip would be first subs off the bench).

With Rickea, I would keep the above line-up with RJ in Puckett's slot.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

When I watch or think of Muffet, Tara, Geno, and Kim, two things come to mind:
1. Intensity - They demand a lot of themselves, their staff, and their players.
2. Multiple NCs

Kellie seems to lack #1, and certainly hasn't come close to #2.

I agree but u also need to bring in players that are intense and have a refuse to lose attitude.

 

[rickyyrs]

Kelly and her staff don't have it in them to elevate the program much higher than it is right now.
Don't delude yourself by expecting any sort of championship from this bunch.

And now you got Texas and Oklahoma coming to the SEC next year. Not only in basketball, football just got a little harder to win the SEC.

 

[NoBackBoard]

I don’t think any coach deserves to be fired for one bad season. If this season goes bad, she deserves next season. If it continues, she should resign after next season.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

This team has been operating without Rickea Jackson and is trying to integrate a couple of other very good players into the scheme of things. If Rickea can get healthy and Key can improve to her old self, I wouldn't be surprised to see this team get to the EE or the FF this year. I wouldn't give up on Kellie just yet.

 

[turbovol]

I agree but u also need to bring in players that are intense and have a refuse to lose attitude.

We haven't had many players over the last 10/15 years with a "refuse to lose mentality." Players have to have it--and
coaches have to cultivate that mindset in those who don't have it by putting a little fear in them. We've had players' coaches who've
not succeeded in building the right hard-nosed mentality in their players and teams.

That said, we're not going to beat any strong opponents without Jackson, who is good for about 20 points a game. We're not
good enough to win without her point production. Let's hope the injury is isolated and healing and not something chronic.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

We haven't had many players over the last 10/15 years with a "refuse to lose mentality." Players have to have it--and
coaches have to cultivate that mindset in those who don't have it by putting a little fear in them. We've had players' coaches who've
not succeeded in building the right hard-nosed mentality in their players and teams.

That said, we're not going to beat any strong opponents without Jackson, who is good for about 20 points a game. We're not
good enough to win without her point production. Let's hope the injury is isolated and healing and not something chronic.

She needs to start recruiting those players, and if u can’t get them, u just don’t settle for anyone. I’d rather not bring anyone in, if we don’t get the right players. If she can’t get those type of players, she needs to go.

 

[Majors]

Uh, Kellie benched her star player last season and then had her coming off the bench for several games. Is that alpha enough for you?

Whenever the LVs lose a game, there are always posters who come with these BS psychological explanations. If only kellie would throw a chair at the players or choke them after a bad play, then they would LEARN!!!

That is fan frustration talking--If I were coach, I would slap some sense into those players!!!

Kellie clearly does need to mix somethings up. Against teams with good perimeter shooting, she needs quicker players on the court who can cover the perimeter more effectively.

Without Rickea, I would have a starting line-up of Powell, Spear, Wynn, Hollingshead, and Puckett. (In this line-up Spear and Puckett have to shoulder a lot of the scoring load). (Wells and Strip would be first subs off the bench).

With Rickea, I would keep the above line-up with RJ in Puckett's slot.

I don’t condone violence. I’d settle for a simple lock on the locker room that was built on the players before them and banners hanging as a reminder.

 

[madtownvol]

The Lady Vols under Coach Harper will not reach the status from the Summit days. She has not been successful in recruiting top players out of the HoopsGurlz top 100. The last and only one out of the last couple of years stayed about two years and was never played more than two or three minutes per game and finally left the team to go elsewhere. Harper needs to put her husband in an administrative position and hire a top notch assistant coach such as Catchings that can recruit and contribute. Harper had done nothing to correct the high rate of turnovers as remember a season where there were 3 games of over 25 turnovers per game....want to correct turnovers simply apply the Coach Barnes method...in practice if a turnover is made the player must run from the floor all the way to the top of the arena and back....that stops turnovers. I Harper is permitted to remain, we are in for a run of seasons as a middle of the pack team in the conference. Either hire Parker or the current coach at Duke as her replacement.

Quick check- The Vols had 20 TOs over against Michigan State. 16 against Syracuse, and 10 T0s against Wisc and Purdue.

So, Barnes method (which I doubt is what he does on a regular basis), clearly does not "stop turnovers." It would disrupt practices, increase injuries, and make players risk averse (YAY!! tough coaching!!)

Now, the Gentlemen vols do have a lower TO average but the LVs had 11 TOs against Indiana (the same as Indiana). So, TOs were not the root cause of this loss.

 

[madtownvol]

I don’t condone violence. I’d settle for a simple lock on the locker room that was built on the players before them and banners hanging as a reminder.

CPS tried the lock em out approach with her baby vol squad. They still lost in the first round to Ball State.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

Get the leadership right, be patient and let the staff do their job and the rest takes care of itself. Coker at Miami is the only Championship team I can recall, that had NC roster and not a good coach.

I slightly disagree, I think you left out very important part that gets too often missed.

I will fix for you…

 

[dapeak]

1. Be willing to step outside the coaching tree. Kellie still has the same S&D coach from Missouri State.. for what reason??? Husband on staff for what reason??? What is the role of Jon Harper???? He was touted as a Post coach but now you have Joy. He’s not a recruiter, and if it’s defense or offense he’s failing at both. What is his role? She gotta go. You teaching young ladies that they gotta have their husbands on staff soaking up a spot for no reason? Gotta go.
2. Don’t let the blue hairs make you think you need a wholesome all American girl at the helm of this program because if we’re gonna be honest, Pat wasn’t even that…
3. Allow someone to come in and actually change the culture of this program. Stop relying on the past to sell it and develop it.
4. Girls shouldn’t see Abby Conklin for development, they should be practicing with Bashaara, Mercedes, Izzy,Candace, Snow, etc.
5. If you stay in this coaching tree. You go get Alex Simmons. The woman can coach and recruit. If you don’t think players would flock here to play for her you are out of your mind. The energy is infectious and if you watched her postgame interview she means business. Something tells me former lady Vols themselves are sick at the product Kellie is producing. Gordon even said “they didn’t stop anything we were trying to do” if you hire one, you hire one that actually was successful and not one that gets to ride off the successes of those who really got us here. That’s the problem, it’s not the coaching tree itself but who we pick and choose to place on a pedestal. Allow someone to come here and truly change the culture.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

I have always supported Kellie, but things are not happening. With all due respect to Winnercircle, Tennessee must start getting High School recruits, and it starts with a staff that knows how to recruit. This team needs a coach like Geno, or Vic, or Jeff. A coach that can recruit, train, and not take any bull..it. It bothers me, even though I am a UConn fan, that this program is getting nowhere with this staff. Playing you every year was a good test, something we want to do with our OOC schedule. We want Tennessee to be a force again, believe it or not. Clean house and get a HC with balls (literally and figuratively) who wants to make a name for himself. This is a good job and I think it can be done if the AD can look past former players. Sorry if I am offending anyone, but that's my take.

Agree with every thing but the ”Literall” balls. Don’t care if it’s a man, woman, or martian.

I think the AD should go out and offer some big name coaches a reasonable salary of say $1-2m give or take salary but give them huge bonuses for performance to make someone jump at it. Say 500k for final four and 1-2m for NC and 50% on top of that for their staff.

Make some big name want to take it.

 

[Majors]

I slightly disagree, I think you left out very important part that gets too often missed.

I will fix for you…

5 years is beyond the patience needed. No need to speak for me, her 20 year resume says enough.

 

[BowlBrother85]

It was Pat. Pure and simple. We will never see another Pat.

I don't think the OP is talking about winning 8 more National Championships though. Can Tennessee be a national contender again? Sure, they can .... and I will say this : I don't think Danny White would limit his search to a former Lady Vol player as was done by both Dave Hart and Phil Fulmer. I would trust him to make a good hire.

 

[LasVegasBill23]

I don’t think any coach deserves to be fired for one bad season. If this season goes bad, she deserves next season. If it continues, she should resign after next season.

Sounds like the apologists for Holly who said she was just getting acclimated to her HC job after 7 years We have seen CKH and know who she is and how she coaches we know how she recruits What will change after 5 years?